Your help could further MMSA’s vision of a brighter STEM future for the State of Maine and the nation. Today, I ask you to support MMSA and become a part of the movement to support exciting new ways for our youth to learn about science, technology, engineering, and math.

Experiential STEM

MMSA, with the generous support of the Davis Family Foundation, is looking for five interested schools, at the middle and high school levels, to partner with in a statewide Experiential STEM initiative. This 12-month project will build a network of teams of teachers and student leaders across schools to co-design experiential STEM units that link the classroom to the community– making learning relevant, meaningful, and empowering for our students.

Project Description

The Experiential STEM project will bring together a variety of research-based strategies to enable classroom reform that will give our students the opportunity to:

Become more engaged in learning the content they need to succeed academically

Improve academic achievement

See the connections between what they learn in the classroom and how it applies to their communities

Create lasting connections to the STEM workforce needs in their own communities

Throughout 2019, MMSA will provide focused, non-hierarchical professional development that works with teams of students and educators together –learning and planning curriculum side-by-side. Educators and students will work together to identify problems within their community and use STEM learning to develop lasting solutions.

Each school team should include one administrator, three educators across STEM disciplines, and two student leaders that will attend a portion of the Summer Institute.

Benefits of Participation:

Expand your network of teaching colleagues.

Help guide the creation of Experiential Learning tools and resources for other teachers.

Transform your classroom into a space for empowered learning.

Utilize student leaders to help build your program, making it more relevant and engaging for all participants.

Expectations of Participation:

Administrators-one from each school- will commit to:

A one-day administrator gathering (April 9, 2019) to meet other administrators and discuss tools and systems that support experiential learning in the classroom. We encourage administrators to bring at least one teacher leader to this workshop.

A pre- and post- project interview or survey to evaluate the impact of the project

Educators -three from each school- will commit to:

A three-day institute (August 14-16, 2019) with both teachers and two student leaders from each school to establish norms of project-based learning, build community, and co-design your school’s project. Students will attend for two out of the three days.

A one-day educator retreat (Fall 2019) to encourage educators to share where they are in the process, troubleshoot problem areas, and support each other in the implementation of their projects.

A one-day student summit (Spring 2020) to showcase the work that students and teachers were able to accomplish over the course of the project.

Virtual gatherings (optional) with other educators to discuss progress and partake in peer coaching

A pre- and post- project interview or survey to evaluate the impact of the project

Lodging and meals will be provided at events and teachers will receive a $500 stipend for their work and commitment to this project.